


pomegranate seeds and flower crowns

by brandflakeeee



Category: Hadestown - Mitchell
Genre: F/M, also sex, but only mostly mentioned, hence the rating, obligatory warning because its the greek gods and there's incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-15 16:38:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19299622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brandflakeeee/pseuds/brandflakeeee
Summary: their story is as old as time itself.





	pomegranate seeds and flower crowns

**Author's Note:**

> Alright. Full disclosure. I've never written anything like this before, so if it's awful you can tell me. This is part one of two!

Summer had bloomed the earth into fields enriched with vibrant flowers and fruit bearing trees whose branches bowed with the weight of the ripe, juicy fruits clinging to them. Meadows of wildflowers in every shade stretched as far as the eye could see, intermittent with vast farmed acres of vegetables, wheat, and livestock. Prayers and offerings went to Demeter, flooding her temples and sacred shrines in thanks for her bountiful gifts of the land. Farming and city folk alike flocked to her altars to pray for their continued harvests and health. That summer would last and the world would remain plentiful for all those living in it. A constant stream of worshippers giving thanks eternal to their goddess of mother earth.

 

Very few ever gave thanks to Kore.

 

For all the work Demeter did, Kore did too. Brought in the rains, coaxed flowers out of the soil, worked alongside her momma in every way she was bid. Yet she existed merely as a shadow, constantly overwhelmed by the presence of her greater godly mother. It was a frustration above all. Not that Kore was  _ vain _ and needed the validation, but she’d spent the entirety of her life in her momma’s shadow. Or her daddy’s. Always ‘daughter of Demeter’ or ‘daughter of Zeus’ or whatever other garbage they called her. Never simply  _ Kore _ . Being an individual meant nothing to the mortal realm apparently. 

 

Still, she put herself into her work. Her momma’s gardens were stunning and it was Kore’s responsibility to tend them when she wasn’t in the fields or with the other nymphs. Talking to the life essence of the flora that inhabited the boundaries of the gardens, encouraging the trees to bear fruit sweeter than anything. It gave her purpose, though not much else. Beyond her momma’s shadow, Kore had  _ nothing _ .

 

Sure, she saw the world for what it was. But she’d rarely been up on the mountain - only when daddy deemed it. And she’d certainly never been anywhere else. The crave to explore was almost sinful, but Demeter had all but attached Kore to a short leash to prevent her from wandering too far out of her grasp. She felt  _ suffocated _ by her mother. If it wasn’t her constant presence it was the absolute madness in her urges to make Kore take Aunt Hestia’s vow of eternal maidenhood - and her temper whenever she found Kore anywhere near her siblings or cousins. 

 

Hermes, Apollo, the lot of them had all fancied her at some point or the other; Hermes was more brother than lover and while Apollo had wandering hands, she’d shut him down faster than a brush fire. Demeter had taken care of the others. As far as her momma was concerned, Kore would never be touched. Never taken advantage of. Never know the touch of another man - or woman. None were good enough. Even her daddy had tried to marry her off not too long ago, parading her up on the mountain like some livestock up for sale. Demeter and Hera both had threatened to geld him and Kore had refused any and all serious notions. Much as she loathed living in her momma’s shadow, she didn’t want to trade one leash for another to a husband who’d try to control her.

 

Maybe she would take the stupid vow. Just to shut them all the hell up. Just live in the damn plants the rest of her immortal life. Boring, but there was a slew of dryads and nymphs who could see to her other needs without permanent commitment or the risk of bringing another demi-god into the surplus of half siblings she already had running about thanks to the lot up on the mountain. The gods weren’t much of a family tree so much as a family circle now days.

 

Stretching in the afternoon sun, Kore rolled over on her stomach and tilted her head over the small outcropping she’d been napping on. Below was a small pool, a run-off of the creek that bordered the gardens. She could see tadpoles and smaller fish beneath the surface, scales shimmering in the light from overhead. She could see her own reflection across the still surface, unruly curls framed with a crown of red carnations and uneven, sun-kissed skin of her face. She liked the way she looked, all soft curves and supple frame. Gave the impression she was naive and easily gullible. Innocent. She was anything but, and delighted astonishing relatives and mortals alike when they assumed her such. She didn’t have the beauty of Aphrodite (who did?) or perhaps even Hera, but Kore liked the way she looked all the same. Perfectly right for a goddess of spring, even half hidden in the shadows. 

 

She plucked one of the carnations from her crown, trailing it across the water’s surface. It rippled, the shadows of the fish beneath distorted. She was  _ bored _ . The gardens were fine, her momma was out doing  _ whatever the hell _ and Kore had been left to her devices. Fish and frogs were no sort of company. Sighing in vague irritation, she dropped the carnation into the water and let the current carry it away downstream. 

 

All at once the hair on the nape of her neck stood on end, without warning or reason. The earth thrummed beneath her fingers as she shifted to push herself up into a sitting position. The air had gone still, as if the world was holding it’s breath. Waiting. For what, Kore only had to glance up to know.

 

He stood across the creek, just beyond the boundary of the gardens. Tall, dark, and half shaded by the trees, he held a dark hat in his hands and wore glasses upon his face that were tinted, likely to keep the sun from his eyes. The air around him seemed to be  _ electric _ with a force she couldn’t quite place. He wasn’t mortal, and a hell of a lot more powerful than she’d felt before seemed to radiate in endless and easy waves that reached her. Explained why her hair had stood on end. She’d only felt such power up on the mountain, though surely she would’ve remembered seeing tall, dark, and brooding up there. Her eyes narrowed, lips half parted to demand who the hell he thought he was trespassing on sacred ground, but the words died in her throat. 

 

The darkness surrounding him. She knew. Oh,  _ she knew. _

 

“Uncle.” She said slowly, rising to her feet and letting her chiton drape across her frame. His only response was to arch a brow in her direction, as if he were surprised. “Were you tryin’ to sneak up on me?”

 

“Never.” He answered, voice low and rumbling like the thunder that rolled across the plains during the spring showers. For a moment, the only noise were the birds overhead and the soft noises from the creek. Kore couldn’t bring herself to move, as if her legs had rooted deep into the ground. He’d never come up before, not that she’d known. Not up top. His third of the cosmos was below, dark and gray and dirt and rust. The dead. And she was certainly not dead.

 

“You gonna stand over there all day?” She remarked, finding her voice. She could see his lips twitch faintly, but it seemed to spur him into action. He walked forward across the surface of the water as if it were merely solid ground. A parlor trick at most. And then he was beside her and she could see him far more clearly this close. Strong jaw, broad shoulders, and hair that was just starting to go grey at the temples. His chiton was dark as slate, a blur of grey against the otherwise vibrant backdrop of the gardens. 

 

“If you’re here to see momma, she’s gone. Won’t be back ‘til late.” Kore felt the need to fill the overwhelming silence between them. He reached up and pulled the dark glasses away from his face, revealing eyes the color of steel. Beautiful. Dark. Eyes that had seen far too much in his eons of time in the worlds of gods and men. This close she could see the small scars that were at his neck, a few on his face, a few disappearing beneath the fabric of his clothes. Battle wounds. Harsh reminders of a war that had begun and ended long before Kore had ever been born. 

 

“I’m not here to see her.” He replied evenly, though Kore studied the expression on his face.  _ Anxious _ , perhaps. Likely because if Demeter found her sorry ass brother in her gardens, much less near her daughter, she’d bury him so far beneath the surface of the ground that the molten lava of Tartarus itself would incinerate him before he’d had a chance to say a word in his own defense. 

 

The thought was almost thrilling to Kore. If Demeter even knew they were standing there, much less having a conversation, they’d  _ both _ be incinerated. She was breaking rules, and knew it. And delighted in it all the same. 

 

“You are amused at my presence?” He asked suddenly; she hadn’t hid her grin. 

 

“Just imagining momma if she knew you were here. With me.” She mused. “What  _ are _ you doing here, then?”

 

“I found it remiss we had not met before. I wanted to remedy it.” There was a dangerous edge to his words that did not go unnoticed by Kore. The volume of the darkness that seemed to surround him was almost beautiful, in a way. A warning of an aura for a man that up until then, had only heard stories and rumors of. She’d never put much faith in them. Rumors ran abound in the realm of the gods and one couldn’t distinguish between truth and lie half the time. 

 

“I know who you are.” She regarded him cooly. “Even if you ain’t showed up here before. Or the mountain.”

 

“As if I would give my brothers an excuse to start another war.” He rumbled, studying her. “I only know you as Demeter’s daughter. Beloved by all, engaged by none. Confined to your gardens.”

 

Her lip curled briefly.

 

“Kore. My name is Kore. You’d do well to call me by name, not as a secondary thought to my momma.”

 

“I wouldn’t dare to offend you.” The king of the underworld mused. “Your gardens are very beautiful.”

 

“They aren’t mine.”

 

“And yet you’re the one who tends them, are you not? The one who makes them grow and thrive.”

 

Something strange settled in her chest. No, they were her mother's gardens. Perfectly preserved and always in full bloom. But his words rang a hollow truth, that Kore had tended the gardens for years now all on her own. Demeter had only praised her work, vaguely, before returning to the fields and the farms. The blooms and ripe fruit were the doing of Kore. Not her mother.

 

The strange thing in her chest shifted to settle in her stomach like a great stone, twisting itself into knots. Hades was still looking at her with an eye she could not place. It was not the hunger she had once seen in Apollo's gaze, or the fear in the mortals. As if he were seeing  _ her _ , not the shadow cast over her. A sharp chill ran the length of her spine. Even the air around him felt dangerous, but  _ alluring _ . Being the summer child she was, Kore had never felt such danger, such darkness. It was intoxicating, filling her head as if she'd snuck off with Dionysus himself to raid the ambrosia cellars. 

 

"How many days you been watching me, king of shades?"

 

To her surprise, he  _ laughed _ . The softness rumbled deep in his chest. 

 

"You're a clever woman, songbird." He mused, and Kore frowned. It had only been a guess, in truth. A jape. So he  _ had _ been watching her. The eyes she'd felt on her in the gardens but never quite able to place. And  _ songbird _ . The term pooled in her chest like liquid nectar, honeyed and slick. Kore sang some days, when she was alone or the plants needed more encouragement than words alone. Sweet, lyrical tunes and melodies that seeped into the trees and earth. He'd heard those, too. 

 

Kore scowled. 

 

"You're just like the rest of them. Take your leave, begone from my gardens." She turned swiftly, and a great hand clasped around her wrist to stop her. Electricity shot up her arm in a tingling jolt and her head snapped around. His grip wasn't tight enough to hurt or imply something darker, merely a means of keeping her from leaving. 

 

"I am not like them." He said slowly, hints of bitterness and ire lacing his words. "Do not dishonor me by comparing me to my brothers and their insatiable offspring." 

 

"You all want the same thing in the end. Every man does, mortal or God." She sneered, jerking her wrist free. "The only difference is you have no wife to betray. If you have come to claim me in some barbarian frame of mind, I will not hesitate to defend myself. King or not."

 

Oh, she was sure he could easily level her into ash and dust no matter how much a fight she put up. Kore met his even gaze, that stony expression giving nothing away about his true intent.

 

"The others have turned you bitter." He remarked after a moment. "You truly think everyone must be out to do you harm."

 

"In my experience they generally are."

 

"I would never seek to hurt you, songbird." Hades murmured and the weird thing settled in her chest again. She trusted no one, and did well by that rule. Even still, the God of the underworld seemed almost eager to test that boundary, as he had tested the boundary of the garden. 

 

Then again, she had invited him over. 

 

"And yet they say you bring only death and ruin."

 

"I suppose they say a lot of things about a God so otherwise ignored except at the very end of one's life. Quite different compared to the daily praise someone like you gains."

 

Kore folded her arms across her chest. 

 

"I am not worshipped. Just an afterthought to someone else's temples." She began to walk, and made no move to stop him from falling into step beside her. The gardens were alive with tiny birds and creatures, a breeze caressing the larger plants grouped together. She reached out to tendrils as she walked, ensuring their growth and contentment. It was instinct, encouraging the blooms and fruits to their full vibrance.  

 

"Then the realm of mortals are amiss in their lack of praises to your gifts and beauty."

 

"Do you smooth talk everyone like this?" She twisted her head to look at him sharply. Yet, she had done nothing to stop him. Again. There was something enticing about him, the darkness within that seemed to call to her. She life, he death, an equal balance. One could not exist without the other.

 

"No. Just you."

 

"And why is that?"

 

"I find you interesting. Different than the egotistical lot upstairs." Hades replied, admiring a gathering of purple orchids. "I admit it was wrong of me to watch you without your knowledge."

 

"Oh, I knew." She felt her lips draw into a vague smirk. "You could just tell me I'm pretty and be done with it."

 

He chuckled and they fell into silence again. Comfortably. It was a strange feeling. Kore had rejected all those who had strayed after her long before they ever got to this point. It would be foolish to cross someone as powerful as Hades, but she couldn't find it in her to care. Mostly. Part of her was almost curious to the consequences if she did. Still, it was no minor feat that she had attracted his attention. No one paid Kore any mind as far as her company beyond what her beauty could offer, and yet there was a man who ruled a third of the cosmos standing near her in the gardens. For  _ her _ . 

 

Flattered as she was, Kore refused to become plaything to any man, any God - powerful or not. 

 

"Do you not grow weary of being caged in these walls?" He asked suddenly, and she looked up from a cluster of ferns that seemed to bend to reach her fingertips as if she were the sun herself.

 

"Its all I've ever known. Can't miss something you never really had. Even if I wanted to leave, wouldn't get far before momma came to drag me back."

 

"Somehow I think you more than capable of fighting her, if you wanted." 

 

"Not all of us wanna fight her. Just because you two ain't on terms together doesn't mean everyone is." She said dryly, straightening. When she turned, he'd grown closer to her. Incredibly so. More than decent. She could see each of his eyelashes this up close, admire the different shades of grey and black in those eyes of steel and earth. The dark aura he radiated touched along her skin, alighting the hairs on the back of her arms and her neck to once again stand at attention. 

 

Dangerous games they were playing, Kore knew. Too dangerous. Yet there lay an impossible to resist urge deep within her chest, in her belly. To defy and rebel and see just how far this king of ash would go. It had been easy to string along the others before, when she had been bored. What made him any different?

 

He lifted a hand as if to touch her face, but stopped instead to wind an errant curl around his finger. She swallowed thickly, mouth gone dry as she stared up at him. As much power and danger she felt, there was something else to. A sense of warmth. A kernel of it, long buried and forgotten. A seed waiting to grow and bloom. As long as she had known, Hades had never taken a wife. Never taken a mistress. Not in centuries - which only seemed to highlight the severe differences of their ages. He'd said he wasn't like his brothers, and yet Kore wondered just  _ why _ he was there with her if not to try and take advantage of her. 

 

"You're beautiful."

 

". . . What?"

 

"You said to tell you that you were pretty. I am only obliging, though certainly not under false pretenses. You're lovely."

 

"Old as hell and you're already better at being a charmer than those idiots up on the mountain." She tilted her head, tongue darting out to wet her lips. "But if you think me naive enough to fall for them, you are sorely mistaken."

 

She ducked under his arm in a swift, fluid motion and began to walk the other way. She heard him give a frustrated breath of annoyance and grinned to herself. Two could play this game.

 

"Are you so repulsed by me?" He questioned when he caught up with her again, several yards away. Emerging from the shadows behind a tree like a ghost. Another parlor trick.

 

"You're still here, aren't you? Could've kicked you out on your ass. Maybe I'll watch my momma do it for me." 

 

"You wouldn't."

 

"Don't presume to tell me what I will or will not do." Kore stopped, turning to look at him with a glare to wither weeds. "You think yourself king that you are untouchable but I do not fear you in the slightest."

 

"Of course you don't." He tilted his head, regarding her with those same dark eyes, but he was smiling. A fool, then. He dared a step closer and Kore remained rooted to her place, bare feet against the earth. The warmth in her chest and belly remained, too. As if a bunch of butterflies and honeybees had gathered in there to fashion themselves a party. Hades looked much the same, in truth. Uncertain, but looking for more. She could hear her momma's voice in the back of her mind, but three others she couldn't recognize seemed to overpower it. A song, a melody - the one she sang in the gardens laced with words that made her reconsider the man before her. He was just that - a man, as much as she was a woman. 

 

"But if you drove me away, who else would keep you company?"

 

"You intend to keep me company?"

 

"If you wish."

 

"If I don't you'd do it anyway. Drag me down kicking and screaming. Ain't that right?" She ventured, and something in his gaze softened considerably when he reached out again toward her. This time he took up her hand, calloused fingers running along the soft skin of her palm before he lifted it and planted a kiss just at the underside of her wrist. Something dizzying shot through her like one of daddy's lightning bolts and she felt her breath catch in the back of her throat. 

 

"No. I would not. Unless you willed it." His eyes were bright, words careful, smile as charming as ever. Kore tried to still the unsteady beat of her heart, but he had not yet let go of her hand and she had not yet pulled away. A stalemate.

 

"I'd do whatever you asked of me, without cause and without hesitation. Such is the profound effect you've had on me." He continued in that same tone and Kore could not tear her gaze away. No divine power could have moved her in that moment even if they tried.

 

"You make mighty promises, Hades." She said, voice a far cry more gentle than before. "You've only just met me. Properly."

 

"And so I have. I could have stolen you as my brothers claimed their paramours, yet I come directly to you with my intent. Does that not warrant some credit?"

 

"You haven't told me your  _ exact _ intent." She pointed out. But she knew. Could surmise and likely land right on target. She wanted to hear him say it. 

 

" _ You _ , songbird."

 

The others had made promises, too. None that she desired. None that she cared for. None that held any weight - not as much as his seemed to do and he had yet to promise her  _ anything _ . The seriousness with which he spoke made her keen to know just  _ what _ he would gift her in return, if she allowed it. But what was she thinking? Her mother would surely rain hellfire - but none could touch the king of death. The intoxicating lure was overwhelming, burning like a bird on a spit in her chest and in her belly and oh, he looked so sincere. 

 

Perhaps Hades, God of the Underworld, did have a heart. 

 

Without thinking she reached out, pressed her palm flat against the fabric of his robes. Over his breast, where she knew his heart lay beneath. A steady pulse thrummed beneath her fingers, singing its silent song. Her gaze flickered from the back of her hand up to his face. Life, as vibrant as anything in her garden just beneath her hand. He seemed to yield to her as the ferns had done, aching for more life than the death that shrouded him. Perhaps in another life they’d have met as a mortal man and woman and things would be easier. No realms to rule, no consideration of the worlds beyond. 

 

Her fingers trailed up his chest, her other hand still trapped in his. She traced a path up his neck, along his jaw, across his lips. He was warm, she noted. Living. Not as dead as the stories said. The stubble of his beard scratched at her soft hands like tiny rose thorns as she cupped his face. Admiring this ancient god of death. 

 

“Tell me why.” She murmured. For all of Zeus’ attempts at seeing her married off to one of her siblings, how  _ amusing _ would it be to be bedded by his brother instead? Demeter would throw a fit and a half, screeching down the mountain. Kore loved her momma, but she was a woman grown. Capable of her own choices, and what if she just so happened to choose this god before her? The one who hadn’t immediately forced himself upon her, even if his . . .  _ courtship _ of stalking her in the gardens wasn’t quite as routine as she would have liked. Then again, routine was often boring. She had flowers and sweets and all sorts of lovely things; what need had she for useless, mindless gifts to buy her affection?

 

“You hold your own.” He replied quietly. “You are a diamond, bright in mind and beauty. If I wanted someone to obey my every whim, to not challenge me, I would have chosen otherwise. But you, little songbird - you are unlike any I’ve met. Ever even heard of.” He planted a kiss to her palm, the same one of the hand he had captured in his own. “I think we would do well together, you and I.”

 

“You think to bed me?”

 

“No, I think to make you my  _ wife _ .”

 

The funny thing in her chest seized. Oh.  _ Oh _ . 

 

He didn’t want an affair, his carnal affections resolved. He wanted a wife. 

 

“You have every quality I could ever ask for in a queen.”

 

_ Oh _ .

 

A queen.

 

One third of the cosmos, offered out to her. For a moment she wondered if it some dark joke, but the look in his eyes proved otherwise. It was a dizzying thought. Little Kore, gone from minor deity to queen. Goddess of spring to queen of the dead. She had seen nothing of the underworld before, heard nothing but the stories. Her gift was  _ life _ , not  _ death _ . To bind herself to the land of the dead, to darkness and ash and stone and steel instead of flowers and sunshine. It was far more than tempting, she realised with the sudden pull in her gut. She  _ wanted _ it. Queen Kore - no, that did not sound correct. She would need a new name, something worthy of being written into legend next to Hades.

 

“You would have me live without the sun, the life of my flowers?”

 

“Contrary to popular belief, there is life to be found in the underworld. Above anyone else I think you more than capable of bringing it forth.” He ducked his head, briefly, and took both her hands now in his own. “It is not an easy decision, I know. But I offer you a third of the cosmos, the entirety of my realm. The entirety of my heart, if you’ll have it.”

 

There was the thought of doing it for spite, but even the king of the underworld deserved better than that. Kore had never been in love before, so she had nothing to compare it to. Love or lust? The warmth in her core felt undeniable, the draw to him. Could she surely agree to marry a man having only just known him?

 

That’s all he seemed to be in that moment. A man, asking a woman to be his wife. Forever. Eternal. Immortal.

 

“I have requests, if we are to reach an agreement.” Kore said slowly, trying to ignore the sudden fire blazing behind those eyes. The idea that she was even entertaining the idea seemed to instill a wistful hope in him that made him appear all the more soft, all the more vulnerable.

 

“Name them.” 

 

“You’ve already said you are not your brothers. I will not play bitter Hera in your facade.”

 

“What reason would I have to stray from you? I have come this far in attempts to make you my wife.”

 

“Eternity is an awful long time.” She remarked. “Swear it.”

 

“You’re a very demanding woman, but nonetheless, I accept and swear it."

 

“I want to be able to return to the surface. Here. Surely you cannot expect me to survive in darkness alone.”

 

His thumbs rubbed soft circles across the back of her hands sandwiched between his two. 

 

“That is . . . slightly more difficult.”

 

“You are a king. Surely you can manage it.” And she would be queen. Of the  _ dead _ . Surely no one would dare go against her wish of being on the surface, if she willed it. Until her momma got word. Then she’d be lucky to remain in the underworld at all for any period of time. Quite frankly, Kore was tired of choices being made  _ for _ her.

 

“I promise I will attempt in every ounce of my abilities to ensure you may return to the sunlight. I would not suffocate you in darkness. You bloom far more vibrantly in the sun. Any other requests?”

 

“Will I be your equal?” She asked. “Or will I be simply known as wife to Hades?”

 

“Your fate is what you shape it to be. You are your own person, a goddess who deserves her own temples. I’ll build them myself, if I must.”

 

“You make many promises. I wonder if you can keep them.”

 

“Aren’t you eager to find out?”

 

She thought of responding, but didn’t. Not verbally. Instead, Kore leaned forward to kiss him. 

 

She had never kissed another before, not romantically. She hoped she’d at least known enough to make it work; clearly, she did judging by how he almost immediately took over, mouth slanted against her own. He tasted of ash and dust, a metallic taste lingering on her tongue. His hands came up to cup her face gently, drawing her closer. There was something powerful yet soft in the gesture, and she felt as if nectar was pooling in the pit of her stomach, warm and heavy. She wanted more, the urge almost overwhelming with the force it struck her with. A spell, perhaps. Some ancient magic she knew nothing of. 

 

Hades drew back, resting his forehead against her own. 

 

"I should do it properly."

 

And without warning he knelt at her feet, hands drawn across her own. The expression he wore was both serious and soft, an odd look for such a powerful face. Little Kore, reducing the king of the dead to his knees. 

 

"Be my wife."

 

A man straight to the point. Kore smiled with an upturned corner of her mouth. 

 

"Alright then."

 

He reached to press a palm against the earth, and drew fine silver ore from the very rock beneath their feet. It coiled across his hands delicately, splitting into two. The finer of the strand coiled neatly around her finger to create twisting leaves of ivy. The other filament circled his finger in a more simple pattern. Wedding bands. The metal was cool to the touch by the time he rose again. He wore a look of almost utter adoration that made her insides melt. His kiss this time was sweeter, one of promise. She felt the butterflies again, though stronger. Urging her to bravery and courage to slide her hands across his chest, marveling at the taught muscles beneath the fabric of his robes. Her heart felt like it might very well leap out of her chest.

 

His attention turned elsewhere, lips tracing the pattern of freckles along her jaw before planting an open mouthed kiss against the flesh just below her ear. His hands explored as he continued his assault against the skin of her neck, feather light touches that danced along her arms, her sides. Nothing to cross a boundary - not yet. He could so easily have taken her, but Kore found it astonishing that his movements almost seemed to ask  _ permission _ . 

 

"Dangerous game you're playing. Momma could be back soon."

 

"Didn't you say she wouldn't be back until late?"

 

"Did I?" 

 

"Besides. We do this on your terms, in your realm." He mused against her neck and Kore felt her skin flush scarlet. She'd never lain with a man before, which left her feeling suddenly very naive and very foolish. Logistically she knew how things  _ occurred _ and functioned, but she surmised she was very uneducated in most regards. Sensing her hesitance, Hades took up her hand again and tugged her gently toward him. There was a grove of fruit trees just behind him, which seemed to be his goal. Kore followed half dazed, ducking under the long fronds into the shade and shelter except what light broke through the upper foliage. It was cooler beneath the tree, and she realised that perhaps he was offering her a kindness in the privacy the grove offered. Not that anyone would come stumbling into the gardens. Not now. 

 

"I will not hurt you." He vowed and she only nodded, throat going dry. This was her choice, she reminded herself. Her choice of husband, no longer second fiddle to anyone else. It felt  _ powerful _ . That power seemed to again give her courage, and Kore reached up to one of the clasps of her chiton at her shoulder to release it. The fabric loosened immediately and with a soft shrug it fell away from her frame to pool neatly at her feet. She could hear his sudden, sharp intake of breath and saw those eyes darken, his fingers twitch. Kore generally wore nothing under her dresses because they were a hindrance, and she preferred the comfort of going without. Clearly something that pleased her new husband immensely, as it left her entirely bare before him. 

 

“You are gracious to an old man.” He murmured, suddenly rooted to his place only feet away. Kore took it upon herself to close the distance between them, his face in her hands in order to drag his lips back to her own. It seemed to break something in him as he surged forward and dug his fingers into her sides; not enough to hurt, just enough to anchor her to him. Calloused hands ran the length of her frame, trailing across her hips and ribs all the way up to the curves of her breasts. There’s a sharp vulnerability she felt - but they are  _ married _ now. She’s allowed this. The warmth in her belly coiled like a snake around her spine, drawing tight as a bow-string. 

 

Hades dipped his head and trailed a series of open mouthed kisses against her jaw, against her neck, venturing lower. Each graze of his teeth or swipe felt like the flame on her skin burning white hot, adding to the wetness that was gathering between her legs. It felt strange and lovely and overwhelming - intoxicating, really. Addicting. 

 

His hand drifted to the inside of her thigh, dragging across the sensitive flesh as it drew higher to the apex of her thighs. Her breath hitched when he brushed against the nub there, testing, waiting. Gentle. His thumb circled atop it, sending tiny bolts straight to her core. Her hips shifted to chase the friction when he slowed, and she was rewarded with a finger slipping inside. She gasped and dug her nails into his shoulders, feeling the rumble of his laughter. 

 

“Relax, little songbird.” He whispered against her neck, hand sliding against her folds. Already it felt better than anything she had ever attempted with her own fingers chasing pleasure. The nymphs had convinced her once or twice to explore her own body and she’d never quite reached the peak as they described. Breathing hard, Kore could only seem to focus on the bow-string drawn taught inside her spine. He added another digit, curling the pair of them inside her. She half whimpered against his shoulder. His motions were slow, but methodic. The heel of his palm pressed against her nub and rubbed in lazy circles and Kore felt her knees faintly quake at the spiral of pleasure threatening to take her. Building like a thunderstorm in the pit of her belly brought forth by the curl of his hand. Her hips bucked against his hand out of her control. She couldn’t put the feeling into words, how the warmth and pleasure bloomed. 

 

She nearly cried out when he withdrew his hand entirely without warning. He arched a brow at her strained expression, her hands grabbing fistfuls of his robes in frustration. It  _ ached _ and again Kore couldn’t find the words to convey it. He wrapped an arm around her waist and turned them; in two swift strides forward for him, two back for her, Kore felt bark digging into her back almost painfully.

 

Hades fell to his knees again before her. In her half hazy state, she couldn’t fathom why.

 

“All hail the queen.” He murmured, before suddenly his mouth replaced where his fingers had been only moments before. Her back arched away from the tree trunk, nails digging into the bark to try and find purchase. His teeth scraped gently across her clit and her legs trembled. A great sweep of his tongue across her folds before it dipped inside made her forget how to breathe for a long moment. Pleasure arced inside her like great currents of electricity as his mouth worked against her, licking and tasting and sucking in what should have been almost obscene. She didn’t think so. Between the pleasure of his mouth and the pain from the tree against her back she felt  _ power _ . The king of the underworld was on his knees between her legs, pleasuring her to heights she thought impossible to reach. It felt carnal. Instinctive. The band of silver on her hand was cold against the flush of her skin. She could feel his matching one on the hand pinning her hip to the tree, keeping control when all she wanted to do was  _ let go _ . She buried a hand in his hair, groaning as his tongue neatly drew her closer and closer to the edge.

 

He sucked  _ hard _ against her nub without warning, and Kore felt the bow-string inside her snap. She cried out, waves of pure bliss shattering through her as her hips moved and his tongue continued it’s assault, drawing out the pleasure to help her ride the waves. She half sobbed at the sheer relief of crashing over the edge, tingling with the energy released and yet somehow already aching for  _ more _ . She understood what the nymphs had spoken of. The sheer nirvana that felt like she’d jumped from the highest branch of a tree with no way to see the ground. It was dizzying, her head reeling as he gently helped her down from the high. Her legs trembled with the effort of keeping herself upright, but he was there to catch her and bring her to the ground with him. 

 

“ _ Stars _ .” She whispered, trying to remember how to breathe. The grass on her back was slightly more comforting, and her fingers reached out blindly to find him. 

 

“You are stunning when you shatter in my hands.” Hades murmured, filling her vision. She grinned hazily. 

 

“You’re as charming with your mouth as you are with the words that come out of it.” She tilted her head to kiss him, this new husband of hers. She could get used to this. They were both breathing hard, and Kore could feel her pulse thrumming faster than a hummingbird’s wings. Her thighs were slick with her own wetness, skin sweaty and sticky. Her kisses were sloppy at best, her fingers drifting to the clasp of his robe. 

 

As breathtaking as things had been until that point, she knew they needed to secure their marriage. By technicality she could still back out - but Kore found she didn’t want to. Hades was more than she could have asked for, even without the post-orgasmic haze that floated through er. Why he had chosen someone as plain as her she’d never guess, even if he told her a million and one times. 

 

He let her deft fingers undo the broach at his shoulder, engraved with delicate symbols of his realm. His robes loosened and fell away and much like her, he wore nothing beneath. Immediately her hands went to his chest, the vast expanse of skin suddenly exposed to her more than enticing. There were scars of puckered flesh that littered his skin, permanent reminders of the ancient wars. Her fingers traced them almost reverently, gaze flickering back up to his face. 

 

“I am not nearly as gifted in beauty as you, but I hope you find me adequate.” He rumbled so quietly she nearly missed it. The sheer vulnerability in his tone made her heart leap.

 

“More than.” She replied gently. She’d kiss them all later, those scars. Give them better memories. There would be time, and very much of it, to explore each other more and Kore delighted in the idea of it. “You’re very handsome. To hell with what anyone else says.” She tilted her head up just enough to kiss him again, this one sweeter than the ones before. Softer. A silent promise. He smiled and ducked his head to press their foreheads together for a moment intimately.

 

“Will you truly be my wife?” He asked, and she smiled faintly, brushing her nose against his. 

 

“Think I’d let you get this far without making an honest woman of me?” She challenged. “I want this. This is my choice.  _ You _ are my choice.”

 

He groaned against her cheek, breathing hard. 

 

“Now I’d appreciate it if you had your way with me before my momma decides to hurry along home.” She added, and suddenly there were no more words. The hand that had been resting at her side drifted down to her thigh, grabbing her leg to hook it around his bare hip. She could feel his obvious desire pressing against the inside of her leg, almost  _ proud _ it was her who brought him such obvious delight. She shifted to accommodate him between her legs, hands splayed against his shoulders to brace herself as he hovered over her. 

 

His mouth covered her own as he guided himself into her, silencing her gasp at the sensation. It was agonizingly slow as he pressed into her, giving her a chance to adjust to feeling and sensations. There was pain, briefly, and Kore whimpered against his lips; then, there was only the feeling of being  _ full _ . Breathing hard through her nose, she could feel the tension in his frame as her fingers dug into his shoulders. Trying to process everything at once was dizzying and he seemed intent on being as gentle as possible with her, something that certainly did not go unnoticed. 

 

“Are you alright?” He asked, and she could only nod. His hips moved against her own, testing her reaction as if he wasn’t sure she was telling the truth or not. It was an exquisite feeling in truth, and Kore couldn’t fathom why some had chosen to give  _ this _ up.

 

Fuck that vow of maidenhood. 

 

His hips drew back, then pressed into her again. Careful motions as if he feared she might break. Kore dug her nails into his shoulders to ensure him otherwise, and his pace quickened by a fraction. Pleasure built low in her belly again as he moved inside her, each thrust as little harder, a little faster. She hooked her other leg around his waist as he leaned in to kiss her fiercely, sharp teeth dragging across her tongue and lips. Experimenting, she drove her hips up to meet his in the next thrust, smiling faintly when she heard him groan. Right. That seemed to be good, then. She did it again, and fell into the rhythm he had set. His fingers printed bruises along her hips, her sides, dragging her close in an almost primal way. Her hands splayed out in the grass to her sides to brace herself; soft and delicate daises sprung up between her fingers and withered as quickly as they bloomed. The more he moved, the harder he drove into her, the tighter she felt her body winding, building again to that nirvana that she suddenly and desperately craved. 

 

The hand not bracing himself above her reached out to take one of her other hands, pressing their palms flat together. Immediately she felt a surge of power that felt like fire burning in her very veins. Her body arched against him, begging in silence for  _ more, please, more _ . The power that seemed to float between them was unearthly and vibrant and as sharp as lightning. Another way to seal their marriage, their coupling, the binding of their powers. She felt nearly drunk on the power that floated through her, faltering slightly to keep up with his pace. He ducked his head to attack her shoulder, her chest, her breasts with teeth and tongue and Kore could only writhe beneath her lover, her husband. Her entire body was trembling,  _ aching _ to tumble over that cliff again. 

 

Hades dragged their joined hands down between them to her nub and pressed against it. She wasn’t sure where he ended and she began, losing herself to the sensations that threatened to overwhelm her. 

 

“Let go.” He hissed against her ear, drawing her earlobe between his teeth. His name fell from her lips in a half whisper, half warning, before the world around her seemed to fall away. The edge raced up to meet her and she fell willingly over it, grinding against him as she rode the waves into utter bliss. She pressed her face into his shoulder, clinging to him for dear life as it rolled through her and Kore again forgot how to simply function for a few seconds. He was not far behind, tumbling over the edge with her a few seconds later with a groan of her name and a swear that wasn’t in a language she immediately understood. 

 

They clung to each other, sweat-soaked and riding the high until the rest of reality began to seep back in. Hades withdrew and splayed in the grass beside her. Kore gave a hazy grin and rolled to her side, hand across his heart.

 

“Do I say thank you, husband?” She asked, still trying to catch her breath. In a surprisingly tender motion, he brought their joined hands up to his lips to kiss her knuckles softly.

 

“I should be thanking you, wife.” He reached up to brush an errant curl from her face; she couldn’t imagine what she looked like. A wild woman, no doubt. Not at all queenly. Above them she could hear the birds chattering. She’d nearly forgotten where they were, in the midst of her momma’s gardens. 

 

Kore couldn’t help it - she laughed, dissolving into giggles. 

 

“We’re both gonna be in such trouble.” She said to his bemused look. “Hope your kingdom has plenty defenses.”

 

“Our kingdom.” He corrected gently. “And it does. I’ll fight for you if I must.”

 

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” She leaned up to kiss his brow, body still tingling with a pleasurable warmth that made her feel just a touch lethargic. A proper bed was sounding real nice. 

 

“We’ll manage.” Hades promised. “Let them come.”

 

“Let them come.” She echoed. Only time would tell if she had made the right choice, binding herself to him. Lonely Hades, the king of the underworld who had never taken a queen. Until presently, of course. It was  _ thrilling _ . Let them indeed come; she would earn her title if she had to. Resting her head against his chest, she stretched and felt the sun warming her skin in patches between the foliage above them. It was peaceful. Beautiful. The gardens always were. The gardens she had just given up.

Hades' hand moved then, against the earth. She expected more ore, but what emerged from the ground was a fruit. Thick, ripe, and a pale red in color she knew it was a pomegranate almost immediately. He offered it out to her, and Kore glanced from him to the fruit.

 

"Fruit of the underworld. Taste it. It'll bind you to there, to  _me_. Even if they want they cannot break the ancient rules, ancient magic." He murmured, watching her face. "For now, eat six. Worth half a year. Any more and you won't be able to return to the surface as you wished."

 

"Ain't married an hour and you're already giving up half your time with me?" She took the fruit with careful hands. 

 

"You asked. I said I would do everything in my power. This is my solution."

 

Kore sat up, digging her fingers into the thick flesh without a care of the bright ruby juice that immediately stained her fingers the color of mortal blood. She plucked the seeds with great care, whole kernels that she ate one by one. The sweetness burst across her tongue, sweeter than any pomegranate she'd ever grown or tasted. One. 

His hand traced invisible patterns against her thigh.

 

Two.

 

The birds startled themselves out of the tree above with a great fluttering of noise and wings, taking to the skies.

 

Three.

 

Hades reached up to touch her hair and when his hand drew away, it was with a handful of asphodel flowers. Soft and small, tangled in her unruly curls. She'd grown them without realizing it. Kore smiled, lips stained red, and a similar crown of asphodels bloomed to life across his head. He smiled.

 

Four.

 

Five.

 

Six.

 

She kissed him then, the pith of the fruit falling from her fingers and the taste lingering on her tongue. 

 

"Come home with me." He asked softly, and Kore smiled.

 

"Take me home, husband."

 


End file.
